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Day 3—Feast of Tabernacles
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,
ruling the world with justice and righteous judgment, planned before the ages of time
Fred R. Coulter—October 16, 2019
Greetings, brethren! Welcome to Day 3 of the Feast of Tabernacles! What a great and fantastic plan God has, and to know and understand and realize that we have a great part in it! His plan is so great and so far reaching that it is almost impossible for us to grasp it in the way that God sees it. But:
- through His Word
- through His Truth
- through His righteousness
- through His Spirit
- through His revelation
to us, we can understand what it is of the entire plan of God!
2-Timothy 1:6: "For this reason… [the reason of faith, love and hope that God has given us] …I admonish you to stir up the gift of God that is in you by the laying on of my hands."
That's something that is incredible, that God gives us with choice, with love and with His Word and understanding to be able to stir up—that is to keep activating in our lives—the Holy Spirit of God to lead us, direct us and to give us understanding.
Verse 7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound-mindedness."
Perhaps we could say it this way: unless you have the Spirit of God you're not all there. That's a true statement, because we were made to receive the Spirit of God. If we're incomplete we're not all there!
Verse 8: "Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God." That's what gives us the strength and the power!
Verse 9 is an incredible verse: "Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling—not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time."
Let's think about what a fantastic and wonderful thing that that is, that we have been called to such a marvelous and carnally-speaking an incredibly fantastic plan that God planned this before the ages of time in which we are living. Then He called us and forgave us, saved us, brought us to knowledge and understanding. Now, we are preparing to become the sons and daughters of God and to rule the world! Let that sink in! This is greater than any person, office, work of anything in this world, and God planned it before the ages of time!
This is incredible! Keep in mind before the ages of time. God knows the end from the beginning, and the beginning from the end. In His Word He has revealed to us all the things that we need to know, but the secret things beyond the Word of God belong to God!
Isaiah 14:24: "The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, 'Surely as I have thought, so it shall come to pass… [If God thinks of it, it's as good as done. Think about that!] …and as I have purposed, so it shall stand."
Everything we study from the Bible and everything about us preparing for eternal life and receiving the Divine nature, and understanding the Truth of God—everything about that—it will happen!
Verse 25: "That I will break Assyria in My land…" That happened during the days of Hezekiah and it's going to happen again at the end-time!
"…and upon My mountains, and trample him under foot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden shall be taken off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon all the earth…" (vs 25-26).
A lot of people want to be part of something really big. But we are all a part of something really, really, really big and tremendous!
"…and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations… [looking for the return of Christ] …for the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who shall reverse it?…." (vs 26-27). No one!
Showing once again, everything in the Bible when it comes toward the end, all climaxes in the return of Jesus Christ and the establishing of:
- the Kingdom of God
- the resurrection of the saints
- the rule over the whole world by the saints resurrected from the dead
Even though in this life they may have suffered terrible, horrible and grievous deaths at the hand of the agents of Satan the devil, but that will not stand! But through the knowledge of the Gospel and the power of God He has annulled death! What does that mean?
To annul means to make it as if it never happened! Think about that! We're going to all die in Adam, but God has annulled death so even though we die, when we're resurrected it's going to be as if it never took place. He's going to annul all the works of Satan the devil.
Daniel was one of the most righteous men who ever lived: Daniel, Job and Noah. Daniel was given all of these great prophecies, and every single one of them came to the end at the same place:
- the return of Christ
- the resurrection of the dead
- the Government of God through Jesus Christ
- the saints taking over the world
Daniel 7:15: "I, Daniel, was distressed in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head alarmed me. And I came near to one of those who stood by and asked him the truth concerning all this. So, he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things. 'These great beasts, which are four, are four kings that shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High… [in the Old Testament is God the Father in the New Testament] …shall receive the Kingdom… [the whole world the Kingdom of God] …and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever'" (vs 15-18).
Verse 19: "Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass; who devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with his feet; and of the ten horns that were on his head, and of the other horn which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking very boastful things, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I watched, and that same horn made war with the saints and overcame them" (vs 19-21)—the last war (Rev. 6) the martyrdom of the saints!
Right after all of those are martyred, what does God do? He saves the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude! Everything that Satan does to try and destroy, only multiplies and increases what God is going to do! That's a fantastic thing to understand!
Verse 21: "I watched, and that same horn made war with the saints and overcame them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints possessed the Kingdom. Thus he said, 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth… [tie that in with Rev. 13] …which shall be different from all the other kingdoms and shall devour the whole earth, and shall trample it and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise…. [tie in Rev. 13 & 16] …And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the set times and the laws….'" (vs 21-25).
That can nothing other than the Roman Catholic Church, because they changed the set times: Sabbath, Passover and Holy Days and the laws, saying that these things are no longer required.
"…And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time. But the judgment shall sit, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end. And the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, Whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him'" (vs 25-27).
That's quite a thing to understand! In Eph. 1 we have another explanation of this by the Apostle Paul, showing and putting it all together. What we have and what we're doing assembled here for the Feast of Tabernacles is so we can:
- learn
- have more understanding
- learn to love one another
- learn to understand what we're going to be doing when we're in the Kingdom of God
To understand that God the Father and Jesus Christ have personally called us and given us Their Spirit—the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son together—and They dwell within us by that Spirit, is we can be converted and changed at the resurrection. The final product to serve and to rule and to be kings and priests (Rev. 20).
Ephesians 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ."
That's not only receiving the Holy Spirit now, but when we're resurrected we will have more spiritual blessings in the heavenly things.
Verse 4: "According as He has personally chosen us…"
In the Greek here is a middle voice verb, which is an unusual verb, because the subject is also the object of the verb. That's why it's translated:
"…personally chosen us for Himself… [this is the plan He had] …before the foundation of the world in order that we might be Holy and blameless before Him in love; having predestinated us for sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His own will" (vs 4-5).
That's why in every prayer we pray Your will be on earth as it is in heaven!
Verse 6: "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son; in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (vs 6-7).
Verse 9: "Having made known to us the mystery of His own will…"
If you were to go out and do a survey and ask someone:
- What is the will of God?
- What is the plan of God?
- Do you know what it is?
- Do you know where to find it?
- Do you know how to discover it?
No one would know! God has blessed His people with knowledge that the world cannot receive, because it's spiritual knowledge! Let's see that we are going to be:
- a Holy priesthood
- a Holy nation
- a royal priesthood
- doing the will of God
Rev. 20 says that we're going to be kings and priests and we're going to reign n the earth.
1-Peter 2:3: "If you yourselves have indeed tasted that the Lord is gracious. To Whom coming, as to a living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, and precious… [men reject Christ, they reject us] …you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house…" (vs 3-5).
That's what Christ is doing in us, building in us the very character that we need. Look at the world today, why is everything so backward and upside down and sinful? Because it progressed that way because of:
- Satan the devil
- men do not know how to properly live their lives or rule and serve others without the knowledge of God
It's impossible, and that's why everything that men do apart from God and under the aegis of Satan the devil always fails!
"…—a Holy priesthood—to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (v 5).
If you get very discouraged and down low, and you're having a terrible pity-party for yourself, this will help pull you out of it.
- God loves you
- God has called you
- God is training you
- God is giving you knowledge
- God is helping you in every way
Even in spite of all the difficulties you go through. Remember the Psalms that say, 'I am with you in your troubles!'
Verse 9: "But you are a chosen stock…" The called, the faithful and chosen meaning selected. Selected by Whom? Who drew you first? The Father! He is the great Ruler of the universe!
"…a royal priesthood… [that's what it's going to be] …a Holy nation, a people for a possession of God, that you might proclaim His excellent virtues, Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people…" (vs 9-10).
- Isn't that true?
- Who do we belong to?
See in 1-Cor. the description of those who are called the weak and the despised.
"…but now are the people of God; who had not received mercy, but now have received mercy" (v 10). That's a tremendous thing!
What are we going to be doing? Now that we know what God has done in calling us, and the purpose of what He has called us for, now let's see what we're going to do.
Luke 19:11: "Now, as they were listening to these things, He went on to speak a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately."
What was the last thing that the disciples asked Jesus before He ascended into heaven for the final time? 'Are you going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time?' Well, it's not going to be restored to Israel, it's going to be restored to the saints of God to take over the whole world!
Verse 12: Therefore, He [Jesus] said, 'A certain nobleman set out to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and to return.'" That's a parable about Himself going to God the Father and coming back!
Verse 13: "And after calling ten of his servants, he gave to them ten pounds, and said to them, 'Trade until I come back.'"
What we are to do is always be active in growing and overcoming, because whatever we do in growing and overcoming that is building the character of God!
Verse 14: "But his citizens hated him and sent an ambassador after him, saying, 'We are not willing to have this man reign over us.'"
Isn't it interesting how many people don't want God to rule over them? That's why God has called us to rule and reign with Christ.
Verse 15: "And it came to pass that when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he directed that those servants to whom he had given the money be called to him, in order that he might know what each one had gained by trading. And the first one came up, saying, 'Lord, your pound has produced ten pounds"'" (vs 15-16).
Tie that in with the parable in Matt. 13 about bringing forth fruit, some 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold.
Verse 17: "Then he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'"
We're going to rule cities and nations. We're going to have all the different things of the true functions of right government that we're going to do. But it is true that:
- God wants us to work His works
- God wants us to grow and overcome with His Spirit
- God want us to learn through difficulties and experiences that we go through
These things qualify us through the Spirit of God to become the servants of God to rule with Christ.
Verse 18: "And the second one came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' Then he also said to this one, 'And you be over five cities'" (vs 18-19).
Now, in v 20 here the one who receive a pound and went and hid it; he really didn't do anything with it. So, this shows that God wants us to always be working and developing. Then, because that one was afraid and buried it, the Lord took it from him and gave it to the one who had ten.
Verse 25: "And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten pounds.' For I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given…" (vs 25-26). That's the way it's going to be! We have it very similar in Matt. 25.
Verse 27: "Moreover, bring my enemies, those who were not willing for me to reign over them, and slay them here before me." So, the wicked are going to be eliminated!
Come right back to one of the most important verses in the Bible, John 3:16: "…may not perish, but may have everlasting life."
Those are the choices. You're either going to have eternal life and live and reign with Christ forever and do the things that God wants forever, or you're going to perish, which means you won't have any existence—period!
Now, here's what Jesus told the disciples on the Passover night, and I don't think they really fully understood it. We'll see that He told them previously that this was going to happen:
Luke 22:28: "Now, you are the ones who have continued with Me in My temptations. And I appoint to you, as My Father has appointed to Me, a kingdom; so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and may sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (vs 28-30). Matt. 19 is very similar!
Here is something that Peter brought up, because after the rich man came to Jesus and said, 'Lord, what should I do that I may inherit eternal life?' Jesus said, 'Keep the commandments.' The rich man said, 'Which ones?' Then Jesus listed them all and the rich man said, 'I've been doing it all my life.' Then Jesus looked at him and said, 'You're lacking one thing, go sell all that you have give to the poor and come and follow Me.' The rich man didn't like that, so he walked away.
How many people walk away from the Truth of God because they have carnal possessions that are more important to them than eternal life?
Matthew 19:23: "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Truly I say to you, it is extremely difficult for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven…. [He didn't say it's impossible, it's difficult] …And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God'" (vs 23-24).
Forget about the nonsense that some of the commentaries have that that's a little narrow thing that you can squeeze a camel through if he gets down on his knees and sort waddles through it. No! God would do it differently. You take a needle and God could take that camel and reduce it down to virtually nothing and pull it through the eye of the needle and reform it on the other side of it. That's likened to the resurrection, if you can draw that analogy.
Verse 25: "But after hearing this, the disciples were greatly astonished and said, 'Who then is able to be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.'" (vs 25-26).
You keep that in mind concerning the things that are difficult for you that you need to overcome. All things are possible with God! Have that faith, belief, knowledge and understanding that if you continue to trust in God you will overcome!
Verse 27: "Then Peter answered and said to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and have followed You. What then shall be for us?' And Jesus said to them, 'Truly I say to you who have followed Me: in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel'" (vs 27-28).
Then what Jesus does is He includes everybody else, v 29: "And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life. But many of the first shall be last, and the last first" (vs 29-30).
All that judgment is in the hands of God! Quite a fantastic thing to understand. This is why the Feast of Tabernacles is so important.
- we come together
- we study the Word of God
- we fellowship with each other
- we ask God to help us
- we ask God to inspire us
- we ask God to uplift us
- we ask God to give us added spiritual strength for the coming year ahead
Luke 12:42: "And the Lord said, 'Who then is the wise and faithful steward…'"
Steward is person who works for his lord to increase the wealth and holdings of the lord for the lord, not for himself. Then the lord will decide what to give to the steward. Here's it's already been decided. We're going to receive eternal life plus whatever God wants to give to us!
"…whom the lord shall put in charge of his household… [run the whole household: honestly, faithfully, reliably] …to give to each one the portion of food in season? Blessed is that servant whom the lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. Of a truth, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions" (vs 42-44).
Think about that for a minute, the possessions, the things of God. That is an amazing thing to understand.
- What kind of inheritance are we going to have?
- What kind of life are we going to have?
- What kind of work are we going to be doing?
You can know for sure that it's going to be awesome and fantastic indeed! Look at how much the Bible talks about the things that are going to be taking place in the Millennium and the Kingdom of God. Here's another one by Paul:
Romans 8:14: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." The sons and daughters of God (2-Cor. 6).
Verse 15: Now, you have not received a spirit of bondage again unto fear, but you have received the Spirit of sonship…"
The King James says 'adoption' but that's not true. Adoption means that you take someone else's children and give them your name. God is not doing that. He is begetting us again with His Spirit in the spirit of our mind so that we are the children of God. Not adopted, but sonship!
"…whereby we call out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit itself bears witness conjointly with our own spirit, testifying that we are the children of God. Now, if we are children, we are also heirs—truly, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—…" (vs 15-17). What did Jesus inherit? All things, meaning everything that there is!
"…if indeed we suffer together with Him, so that we may also be glorified together with Him" (v 17).
That's quite a thing there, read the rest of it. There is nothing that can become between us and God!
The book of Proverbs contains some very interesting that we can learn concerning how we are going to behave, live, work and act in the Kingdom of God.
- since we're going to be kings and priests
- since we're going to be ruling over cities and over districts
- since we're going to be teaching
here in Proverbs are some very profound things to help us understand how important it is to build the character of God!
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The book of Proverbs shows us what not to do and what we should do, and how we're going to rule. These Proverbs are true and very important things to understand.
Proverbs 28:15: "Like a roaring lion and a ranging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the helpless people."
- Sound like some governments you know of today?
- How about Venezuela?
- How abut China?
- How about other countries ruled by dictators?
We're going to have absolute authority, but we're going to have the blessing of people not having completely carnal stubborn minds like they have today, as we found in Ezek. 36. This is what it's not going to be like during the Millennium.
Verse 16: "A ruler lacking understanding is also a great oppressor…" The people are not going to be oppressed.
- they're going to be taught
- they're going to be uplifted
- they're going to be shown God's way
And we will be spirit beings to help them!
Of course, we will manifest ourselves in such a way that we're not going to come to them with all of the power and glory shining as the sun. But it's going to be quite a thing—isn't it? Think about how the world is going to be completely different and how magnificent that is going to be, and here's the way it's going to be done:
Proverbs 29:2: "When the righteous are in authority… That's what we will be:
- we will be righteous
- we will be spirit beings
- we will have knowledge and understanding
- we will have the character of God
"…the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people mourn" (v 2).
You can apply that so well to so many different situations of government that it's an amazing thing, how true that is!
Verse 4: "The king establishes the land by justice…" Justice means righteous judgment! We'll have to make judgments in understanding and things like this to help people know how to live. It's going to be a great and marvelous thing. Everything that we are going through now to learn, grow and overcome is going to help us to be able to be the righteous in authority so the people will rejoice.
There will be love between us and them, and between them and us. It's going to be a wonderful and fantastic time.
Think about this as it is today; v 12: "If a ruler hearkens to lies, all his servants are wicked." That is so true!
You can see that in government, in anyplace where people have to have leadership or a ruler, whatever it is. This sounds like the government of the United States and of whatever other country you live in? Isn't that what the problem is? Wicked rulers! They don't think they're wicked. But they're conniving, stealing, working out things for their benefit rather than serving the people.
Verse 14: "A king who faithfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever."
That's quite a statement! Are we going to faithfully judge the poor? Of course we are! We are going to have justice, judgment, equity, knowledge and understanding!
Verse 18: "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but happy is he who keeps the Law."
- Are we not always going to have before the people the goal? Vision means that you have a goal, and you're working toward that goal!
- What is the vision that we have? To attain to the Kingdom of God and eternal life!
- What is the vision that they are going to have? The exact same one, to attain to eternal life!
This is going to be something! Remember that Satan is bound at the beginning of the Millennium, so he's not going to be around to inspire lots of sin. That doesn't mean that there won't be some sin, but we'll figure out how to take care of that tomorrow (Day 4 FOT).
During the Millennium it doesn't mean that there aren't going to be some trials and difficulties and tests for people to go through and understand and learn from there. We always learn from our mistakes. We always learn from the things that are difficult to do. Of course, God is not going to take that away from them. That's a necessary experience to learn and know right from wrong, good from evil and know what to do.
We will be there to help them, to teach them and sometimes we'll be there and they won't even see us, because as spirit beings we can manifest ourselves to be seen or we can disappear. Think about what that is going to do to help people have a good conscience.
Isaiah 30:19: "For, O people, who dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, you shall weep no more; He will be very gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you."
That's going to apply to us in helping the people in the Millennium! They're going to pray and we're going to be there to answer it. We're going to be there to help them. Here it shows where there will be trials and difficulties even for them:
Verse 20: "And though the LORD gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet, your teachers shall not be removed into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers."
Just like I said, you can appear and there you are. You're teaching them, training them, and giving them the knowledge of everything they need to know so they can attain to eternal life, as well.
That's going to be a tremendous thing, because 'the increase of His government and the increase of His Kingdom,' and the increase of God's purpose is going to continue all through the Millennium and then the Great White Throne Judgment. Isn't that amazing? We'll talk about that when we get to Day 8!
Verse 21: "And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left." Just think how much that's going to save a lot of problems and difficulties!
This means that they're really getting out of the way small, minor difficulties that come along, which maybe they can help themselves by figuring it out themselves. But this is if you're going to go against God then it's not going to be allowed!
We're going to see what will happen tomorrow on that, how God is going to deal with those who sin. It is absolutely true that Isaiah has more concerning the Kingdom of God along with the book of Psalms than any other books in the Bible. This is really going to be quite a thing when you understand it. Everything is going to be entirely different from what we know today. It's all going to be because Christ is going to be King over the earth.
Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a shoot out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him…" (vs 1-2).
- this is His first coming
- v 2 is a combination of His first and second coming
- v 3 onward will be down into the Millennium and how it's going to be
Everything is going to be the restoration of all things that we find in Acts 3, that Christ is gone to the heavens until the restoration of all things. That doesn't mean that they're going to be restored and then He comes. That means that when He comes it will be the restoration of all things.
Verse 2: "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding… [Isn't that going to be different than what it is with the rulers of the world today?] …the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. And He shall not judge according to the sight of His eyes, nor after the hearing of His ears" (vs 2-3).
- How is He going to judge? He's going to judge righteous judgment!
- How is that going to be given?
- With the Laws of God!
That's exactly what we are to do!
- righteous judgment
- truth and understanding'
- wisdom and knowledge
All together so that it's going to bring an atmosphere of love, joy, production, work and understanding!
Verse 4: "But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth…."—showing that there are going to be mistakes and sins that come along!
"…And He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked" (v 4). That's projecting ahead to the Lake of Fire.
As you know the book of Isaiah is 'a little here, a little there, line upon line and precept upon precept.' Just like this you will have a verse that will be interjected that doesn't necessarily fit the context exactly in the same way, because this is part of another aspect that God is putting together with other Scriptures.
Verse 5: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins."
I got an e-mail from a woman who said, 'Show me where it says the lion and the lamb.' Well it doesn't quite say it the way that it has been projected for many years. Isaiah brings a little different picture. The lion is there, but not with the lamb. What's with the lamb?
Verse 6: "Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb…" Isn't that interesting?
Let's go back to what Jesus said about false prophets: they are wolves in sheep's clothing! So, here this is showing how the whole environment is going to be absolutely changed. No more plastic toys, but the real thing. Why is that good? Because the children will have to learn how to take care of them, and you can't treat them like a toy and pick it up and throw it out when you're mad. It may snap back at you, and if it does then you're going to learn a lesson: don't do that!
"…and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the cub lion… [not the lion and the lamb] …and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them" (v 6).
- What would you rather have?
- A lion cub as a toy, playmate?
or
- Would you rather have this little plastic toy?
Well, you know that the children will be absolutely thrilled to have live animals instead of these plastic things that we today. That doesn't mean that there won't be things like toys for building small children's play houses and things like that; that will be there.
Verse 7: "And the cow and the bear shall feed… [together] …their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox."
In all of this, that's hard to figure out. I don't know how a lion is going to eat straw. Is there going to be a change in the teeth of lions? I don't know! If you watch any of the documentaries of lions in Africa, they've got a lot of teeth for tearing flesh, hide, bones and sinew and chewing those all up.
That makes me wonder about the hyena? It has the strongest bite of any animal and can literally break any bone and eat it. How is all of this change of the environment going to be? I don't think the lion is going to chew its cud like the cow, but nevertheless…
Verse 8: "And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp… [an awful-looking snake, very deadly indeed, but now it won't be deadly] …and the weaned child shall put his hand on the viper's den. 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Holy mountain… [think about how great that's going to be] …for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea'" (vs 8-9).
Let's understand that if you have a Bible, that contains all the knowledge of God that we have revealed to us today. This doesn't even cover a kitchen sink. Think how much knowledge and understanding that God is going to bring that He's going to give to us to teach the people. "…for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
Verse 10: "And in that day there shall be the Root of Jesse standing as a banner for the people; to Him the nations shall seek; and His rest shall be glorious." The rest is the Millennium! That means peace!
Isa. 52 also tells us what we're going to do, and also tells us part of the things that are going to be taking place to restore everything the way that God wants it.
Isaiah 52:6: "'Therefore, My people shall know My name, thus it shall be in that day, for I am He Who speaks; behold, it is I.' How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace… [that's what we're going to be doing] …who brings good news, who publishes salvation; who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" (vs 6-7). We covered part of that yesterday!
Verse 8: "The voice of Your watchmen shall be lifted up! They lift up the voice together; they sing aloud, for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD returns again to Zion."
This is going to be quite a fantastic thing as the whole unfolding of the Millennium and the teaching of the people and learning of God—the knowledge of God and the Truth of God—and all of us together. Think about what it's going to be like every Sabbath when the Sabbath comes around. That is going to be a glorious thing indeed. Think about what it's going to be like when all of the Feasts come around.
Verse 8: "The voice of Your watchmen shall be lifted up! They lift up the voice together; they sing aloud, for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD returns again to Zion. Break out, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem" (vs 8-9).
That's quite a thing, all of that together! Think about how that's going to be.
- no more fighting
- no more arguing
- no more quarreling
- no more bickering
- no more bad government
- no more lying, cheating and stealing by those who are in authority
The Law of God is going to be given and it's going to be enforced, not by saying, 'You shall do this.' But because we will teach it to them and they will want to do it.
Just like with us, we know that it says to 'remember the Sabbath Day and keep it.' But we keep it because not only because God says so and we understand that, but because we want to! We know that God puts His Spirit in that day, He teaches us through His Word, and all of those things are part of the Sabbath Day. Coming together to fellowship with each other, to love each other, to learn how to live our lives. The human mind is such that we need the Sabbath every seventh day. That's why God gave it! We're going to help bring that to everybody in the Millennium.
This is also going to be part of it. Isaiah 51:1: "Hearken to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the LORD…" That applies to us today, but it's going to apply to everyone in the Millennium!
"…Look to the Rock from which you were cut, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug…. [resurrected; that's for us] …Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him alone, and blessed him, and made him many" (vs 1-2).
What role are they going to play in the Millennium? God doesn't tell us! He gives us some idea of what it's going to be, but He doesn't tell us very many details. And for us to speculate what it would be would really be fruitless because we don't know what God has in mind or in store.
Verse 3: "For the LORD shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD…."
When was the last time that you saw a documentary on the desert, a barren waste place, yet, there's still life out there. Even with the plunging of temperatures at night, down near freezing, and coming up to a 120+ degrees in the daytime, there is still life. God is going to transform all of that. No more searing desert like we have today. You can take the Sahara Desert, the Gobi Desert, deserts in America, in Australia, China and Russia, no more! Nor more deserts!
Notice what's going to come because of that; "…Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 'Hearken to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation; for instruction shall proceed from Me, and I will make My justice as a light to the people'" (vs 3-4).
- Will we also continue to learn as spirit beings? Of course!
- Will we continue to have instruction from God? Yes, indeed!
Verse 5: "My righteousness is near; My salvation has gone out, and My arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon Me, and on My arm they shall trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall become old like a garment; and its inhabitants shall die in the same way. But My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished" (vs 5-6).
This sounds a little bit like the time when the Lake of Fire and all the wicked are cast in it, and then the Lake of Fire consumes the whole earth to prepare it for the coming New Jerusalem.
Verse 8: "For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My righteousness shall be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation."
Now let's see some other things on how all of this is going to come about here.
Isaiah 58:12: "And those who come of you shall build the old ruins…" God is tell Israel that they're going to be having children and so forth and build the old ruins. You can guaranteed that they're not going to build them like some of the things that they build today.
- there will be no idols
- there will be no statues
- there will be no crosses
- there will not be any of these things that are of pagan origin
"…you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called: The Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Paths to Dwell in" (v 12).
Then notice what's going to perpetuate this: the knowledge of God and the Sabbath! This is what brings it out:
Verse 13: "If you turn your foot away from the Sabbath, from doing your own desires on My Holy Day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the Holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor pursuing your own desires, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it" (vs 13-14). That is amazing!
Through it all, everything that God has in His Word is going to be magnified, glorified and expanded so that it's going to produce some tremendous things. That's all a part of God's plan from before the ages of time!
Now, here's what the economy is going to be like then. Remember:
- every 7th year will be a 'land sabbath'
- every 50th year will be a 'Jubilee'
Those will be followed, and look at what God is going to give them:
Isaiah 60:17: "For bronze I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver; and for wood I will bring bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make your overseers to be peace, and your rulers to be righteousness."
Think about what kind of society that is going to be developed into.
Verse 18: "Violence will no more be heard in your land, neither wasting nor ruin within your borders; but you will call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise."
I wonder if there will be any locks? I don't know! If everyone is righteous except those who sin once in a while—and there will be those who will do that, and there will be those who do grievous sins as well—but will locks be necessary? We'll have to find out!
Verse 19[transcriber's correction]: "The sun will no more be your light by day…" That is not only referring to just the sun for light, but that's also referring to worshipping God!
"…nor the brightness of the moon give light to you; but the LORD will be to you for an everlasting Light, and your God your glory. Your sun will no more go down, nor your moon withdraw; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Your people also will all be righteous; they will inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified" (vs 19-21).
Think about that! Everything we're going to be doing during the Millennium is to glorify God in everything that He does. This is going to be fantastic.
Verse 22: "A smallest will become a thousand, and the least one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in its time"—not before!
This also shows what's going to be part of what's going to be done during the Millennium; Isaiah 61:3[transcriber's correction]: "To appoint to those who mourn in Zion, giving to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified."
Again, how is that going to be for the Millennium? God is constantly glorified!
- everyone understands that God is God
- we are there to be teaching
- we will spirit beings
- we will be the same as Jesus Christ
in existence, but not in authority
- we will be helping the people accomplish this:
Verse 4: "And they will build the old wastes, they will raise up the desolations of former times. And they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations"
Remember, when we get toward the end of the Millennium, what are we doing? We are preparing the earth for all of those to be resurrected as pictured by the Last Great Day!
Verse 5: "And strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the stranger will be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be called the priests of the LORD… [that's us] …it will be said of you, 'The ministers of our God'; you will eat the riches of the Gentiles, and you will boast in their glory" (vs 5-6)—all of that together!
Verse 8: "For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth… [we're going to have direction] …and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people; all who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the seed the LORD has blessed" (vs 8-9).
That's what we're going to be doing during the Millennium. It's going to be a fantastic, productive and busy time. We have just barely a skeletal outline of what it's going to be.
Let's come back for Day 4 tomorrow and continue on with the knowledge of the Feast of Tabernacles, and what God wants us to learn, know and do!
Scriptural References:
- 2 Timothy 1:6-9
- Isaiah 14:24-27
- Daniel 7:15-27
- Ephesians 1:3-7, 9
- 1 Peter 2:3-5, 9-10
- Luke 19:11-19, 25-27
- John 3:16
- Luke 22:28-30
- Matthew 19:23-30
- Luke 2:42-44
- Romans 8:14-17
- Proverbs 28:15-16
- Proverbs 29:2, 4, 12, 14, 18
- Isaiah 30:19-21
- Isaiah 11:1-10
- Isaiah 52:6-9
- Isaiah 51:1-6, 8
- Isaiah 58:12-14
- Isaiah 60:17-22
- Isaiah 61:3-6, 8-9
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Revelation 6; 13; 16; 20
- 1 Corinthians 1
- Matthew 13
- Luke 19:20-24
- Matthew 25
- 2 Corinthians 6
- Ezekiel 36
- Acts 3
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7/21/19
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